


Thunderstruck

by acuteneurosis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Arguing, Bad Parenting, Brother-Sister Relationships, Don't Argue with Children, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Kidnapping, Running Away, bad idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:29:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acuteneurosis/pseuds/acuteneurosis
Summary: Leia is six years old and in the last six days she’s tried to run away to home six different times.
Relationships: Leia Organa & Darth Vader, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 330





	Thunderstruck

Leia is six years old and in the last six days she’s tried to run away to home six different times.

She’s even _almost_ made it. Once.

Her father clearly has no idea what to do about her.

“Leia-” he starts, trying to sound scolding. He doesn’t know how to do a parent voice yet. And she’s not gonna let him find out.

“Princess,” she corrects, arms folded across her chest, nose just a little in the air. So he knows she’s _serious_. “I’m a _princess_.”

He obviously doesn’t know what to do with that either. It’s not the look on his face that gives it away, ‘cause he’s got the mask. It’s not the pause either, because he pauses before just about everything he says to them, whether he knows a thing or not.

No, it’s the little wiggling feeling she gets from him, from his inside. The part that wants to be angry because she’s talking back, and she’s not supposed to talk back. And the other part that knows she’s right. And even likes it.

That’s Leia’s favorite part of their father. That he likes when she’s right, even if he doesn’t want to.

She doesn’t like any of the rest of him though. She already has a papa, and he loves her very much, and has to miss her right now.

And her new father says she can’t go back.

“Princess Leia,” he concedes, and she smiles because, and her _real_ papa taught her this, when they have to agree with you on the first thing, you’ve already won. “You can’t keep running away. It’s dangerous.”

“Okay,” she agrees easily, and lets him get a little less stiff before she says, “then you take me back.”

He likes that idea a lot less. The happy part he’d had for her being right is gone now, eaten up by the angry thing that lives in him, the part that Leia hates the most.

Well, almost the most.

“No,” he answers, shaking a finger at her as if _that_ makes any difference. “This is your home now. You _will_ stay here.”

He’s not _making_ her do it. Her father never makes anyone do anything, not like the dark man, the Master, Emperor, whatever the old man is called. He _makes_ people do all sorts of things. Even when he isn’t speaking in a do-this sort of voice. He just talks, and they nod and move and do what he says.

Not her father, Leia notices. Not as much anyway. Not as easy. Her father makes the old man work for it. And he does the thing himself, even if it’s what the Emperor is trying to _make_ him do. Because he does everything himself, like the monster inside tells him to.

So her father’s not _making_ her stay, and Leia won’t. But she doesn’t like his tone. You don’t talk like that to a princess. Even if they’re your princess.

“My home,” Leia reminds him, slowly so maybe he’ll remember, “is Alderaan. This is _your_ home, not mine.”

He wants to disagree with all of what she just said, but he does the breathing thing that real parents sometimes do, when they’re about to pretend to talk about something else, but just be tricky and really it’s still this.

“Luke’s crying,” her father says, and she can tell it makes him angry, but he’s trying not to let his angry be at her. “You made him do that.”

Leia bites her lips, because she doesn’t _make_ anyone do anything, not like the Emperor does. But, _but_ , Luke is crying and it’s _probably_ her fault. Just a little.

She doesn’t answer that. It’s a trap.

“Your brother,” her father keeps going when he sees she won’t talk, “is crying in his room, sobbing into his pillow, because his little sister ran away and _left him behind_.”

There’s nothing forgiving in those words, and Leia doesn’t want to be forgiven. Not yet at least. Luke should be crying if he’s sad.

But she’d _tried_ to bring him the first few times and every time father had found them because he _always_ knows _exactly_ where Luke is, and it’s _annoying_. You can’t run away like that. And the next couple of times, when Leia had left without him, Luke had followed and their father had found Luke, and Luke always knew where to find _her,_ so Leia couldn’t get away in time.

So this time she’d been very quiet, and very careful, and shut Luke out of her head as much as she could, and when it was dark and quiet and all the droids were distracted by the door opening down the hall, like Luke had taught her to do, Leia had run for it.

She’d made it all the way to a _ship_. Going to _Alderaan_ even. And she’d almost made it on board.

And then she’d been caught.

Cameras. Turns out there are a _lot_ in space ports.

She’ll have to remember that.

“Are you going to leave him behind again?” her father asks her, his arms now crossed. “Are you going to let him think you don’t love him?”

“No,” Leia pulls her arms tighter, tries to make the special frown her mother saves for _really_ stupid questions. “I _do_ love him. Even more than you!”

Something about that confuses her father, but he isn’t easily distracted. “Then you’ll stay here.”

“No,” Leia rolls her eyes. “I’ll go back to Alderaan, and you’ll bring him there to visit me. Every day.”

There’s a very, very long silence. Even on the inside, her father seems stopped. “Child-“

“Princess,” she reminds him, nose back up in the air a bit.

His suit makes a static noise. “Princess Leia, it is not possible to take him to Alderaan and back every single day.”

“Then you leave him there and when _you_ have free time, you can come and visit.”

It’s the smart thing that he should have thought of already. Then Luke can be a prince, and her father can do all his boring work that they aren’t allowed to see him do, and her parents, her real parents who love her, can be with Leia. And Leia can be with Luke.

It makes perfect sense.

There’s another very, very, _very_ long silence, and her father is thinking and feeling so fast Leia can’t quite keep up, so she just pretends she is and keeps her nose just a little in the air and waits.

Finally, “No.”

She stomps her foot. She doesn’t care if a princess isn’t supposed to, he’s being _so. Stupid_.

“It’s what I _want_!” Leia actually shouts, and then she knows she’s lost because her papa, her _real_ father, always tells her whoever has to shout first always loses. But Leia is already mad, and he _isn’t listening_. “It’s _all_ I want!”

The hiding wall comes out, where her father puts feelings he doesn’t want her seeing. She doesn’t know exactly what they are, but they have to be bad ones. People only ever try to hide the bad ones.

“I know,” he says, shaking his head. “Believe me, Princess, I know. But this time… this time, you can’t. Even if I did let you, the Emperor won’t.”

Trying to take the parent deep breath, Leia decides to try her one trick.

“Then don’t do what he says.”

There’s a jolt, like being surprised at mountain thunder, but without any storm. Leia feels it in her, like it belongs there, but she can’t be surprised. It has to be her father.

She knows Luke isn’t crying anymore. He must have felt it too. Huh.

“Maybe,” her father says in a voice that is almost scary, scary and calm, “I will. Not.”

Leia smiles, as confident as she can. “Then I can go home?”

The feelings are hiding again, at least a little. She knows it. She also knows her father is distracted. Thinking about something else. So later, she’ll have to remind him that he says, “Maybe. Maybe you will.”

Before she can run off with that promise though, he adds, “For a visit.”

Leia frowns, but her father is ignoring her. He’s still distracted by that stormless bolt, she thinks.

Well, if he’s busy, then she can always try again tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> How did Vader find his children? Who knows.   
> What is going to happen to the Emperor now? Well...   
> Why didn't Vader do something about the Emperor before? I mean, he's got a major problem with tunnel vision when it comes to people he loves, so one thing at a time, I guess.  
> How do Bail and Breha and Obi-Wan and the Larses feel about Vader kidnapping his children? It probably varies. A lot. (Obi-Wan may be dead, actually?)  
> Is Vader going to be able to make this work? As well as he ever does.  
> Is Leia going to run away again? Absolutely.  
> Will Luke follow her? To the bitter end.
> 
> I really have no justification for writing this fic. It just happened, and was finished, so I have posted it. Hope you enjoyed.


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